Interpreting Understandings
by kogasgal27
Summary: Takes place after QoAaD, following the story of Ty and Kit. How do they navigate the Shadowworld apart and how will they make their way back to each other again?


Understanding and Interpretations

It had been weeks since the party on the beach. Everyone had had such a wonderful time and Ty literarily couldn't even go into a room without someone being in there and smiling goofily at each other. Helen and Aline would hold hands and stare deeply into each others eyes. Cristina and Mark always had their heads bent together, whispering sweet nothings to the other person. Most of all was Julian and Emma who seemed to be always touching, a shoulder, a hand, a kiss on the lips. And that is where Ty found them holding hands and giggling together at the kitchen table, empty plates sitting in front of them.

And that's when Ty decided that he had to do something. He'd been moping around the LA Institute, Drusilla as his only companion. And Livvy, but no one knew about that. Julian had asked multiple times if everything was all right. He'd obviously been shocked when Ty revisited his idea of wanting to go to the Scholmance. He knew he should go for penance of the dark magic he had done, but there was something holding him back from fully committing.

"Emma."

The giggling stopped abruptly and she glanced up at him with a smile on her face, "Yes, Ty?"

He focused on a point just over her shoulder, against the far wall, "Can I ask you something?"

Ty's eyes flitted over to Julian and back to the spot over Emma's shoulder. Julian pushed his chair back, understanding his brother better than anyone, "I'll be in my studio."

He squeezed Emma's hand lightly, then ruffled Ty's hair as he always did, and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the staircase.

Ty could feel Emma's eyes on him as she waited for him to speak. He cleared his throat and skidded his eyes around the room, "Magnus told me that Kit went with Jem."

Emma nodded, "Yes that's right."

"I need to see him."

She hesitated for a moment, "Did something happen?"

"Can I see him?" Ty asked again, not answering her question.

"I'll send a fire message to Jem."

Relief so strong passed through Ty, "Thank you."

She nodded and he vanished from the room as quickly as he had entered it. It wasn't a sure thing, but he really hoped Kit wanted to see him. He knew from things Julian had told him that Kit was probably still mad at him. And it was obvious something was wrong when Magnus had told him that Kit left without wanting to say good-bye to anyone, especially him. Ty has gone over the night they raised Livia's ghost over and over in his head. Somethings were as clear as daylight in his mind's eye and others were blurry. He knew by the end of the spell Kit had been upset but Ty couldn't fathom why. The other boy had agreed on multiple occasions and then had tried to stop him at the end. Regardless of the outcome, Ty knew that if he didn't see Kit and talk to him at least once more, then his heart would never rest easy.

—

Kit was lounging on the couch. If this is what it meant to be a Shadowhunter then he guessed it wasn't so bad. Jem and Tessa had been extremely kind to him. Giving him meals, clothes, a bedroom, a house to live in. But he couldn't help feel as if something was missing. Okay who was he kidding, he knew what was missing but he wasn't going to admit it to anyone. He'd begged Jem to take them to the beach in LA just so he could get one last look at everyone, even though he didn't actually want to say good-bye. The pair had indulged him and the trio of them had stood high above while the party raged on below. He remembered Tessa gushing about how handsome Magnus looked and how happy she was for him. Jem stood by her side, a hand on her lower back, as his eyes drifted towards Emma Carstairs the only blood family he seemed to have left. Kit's gaze glanced over Dru who was playing with Tavvy by the water, then over to Julian who was laughing at something Simon Lewis had said. But when his eyes landed on Tiberius Blackthorn they didn't wander again. He had been looking up at a beautiful girl floating above the water in a fluorescent white dress and Kit's chest clenched again just thinking about it.

The smile on Ty's face and been amazingly brilliant and he knew with a sinking heart that Ty had never smiled at him that way. And then they had left. The closure Kit had hoped to get, just made his heart ache more. It had been aching this way ever since.

Slowly Jem made his way into the living room. A message was burning away in his hand. Tessa was humming sweetly in the kitchen and Kit could smell pancakes cooking on the stove. Swinging his feet off the couch he made room and Jem sat next to him.

"What's up?"

"I just got a fire message from Emma," Jem responded.

Kit felt his heart rate sky rocket. The first thing he wanted to ask was if everyone was all right but he bit back the words. What he really wanted to ask was if a particular someone was alright, though he stayed silent and waited for the older man to continue.

"She said Ty really wants to see you."

He blinked in surprised shock. Of all the things he expected Jem to say, that was not one of them. Kit couldn't admit he wasn't happy that the other boy was thinking about him. In fact it made the weight he had felt these past few weeks seem a little lighter.

"Oh?" was all he replied with a slow blink.

Jem made a pained expression. Kit wondered if he was afraid that Kit would go and not come back. He had a feeling that was what the older man had been most worried about when he said he'd wanted to stop in LA one final time before they headed for Devon. Then Jem's expression cleared slightly.

"Do you want to see him?" was all Jem said.

Kit couldn't help the word that betrayed him and whispered, "Yes."

And so that was how Kit found himself stepping through a portal Tessa had made after breakfast. She rested her hand on her stomach, she still looked very slim but there was just a little bit of a bump starting to show through her sweater. Jem kissed her on the cheek lovingly and said they would be back soon. And not to hesitate to call them back immediately if anything happened. Tessa had laughed and said she would be fine and they didn't have to worry about her. He still worried though.

Emma and Julian were waiting for them on the other side.

"Jem!" she yelped and threw her arms around him.

He chuckled and squeezed her back. Julian nodded stoically to the both of them. Kit unsure of what to do, nodded back. His eyes roamed the library where they had entered, but no one else was in the room. The disappointment he felt was overwhelming. What if Jem had misunderstood the message and Ty hadn't wanted to see him at all?

Then a shadow fell through the open doorway and standing there was Ty. Kit let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The other boy had his headphones around his neck as usual and his hands were doing their silent butterfly rotations at his sides. It warmed Kit's heart a little to see that maybe Ty was as nervous as he was.

Ty beckoned the other boy to come. Kit glanced at Jem who had his head bent talking to Emma, then at Julian who was staring at him. Julian let a slow smile spread across his face and inclined his head towards the door as if giving permission to go. And so Kit went.

Kit followed Ty down the hallway, towards the stairs, then the front door and they made their way down to the beach. Ty was walking straight ahead and didn't glance back once. The blonde haired boy wondered if Ty didn't care or if he expected that Kit was just following him as he always had or if he was too afraid to see if he wasn't?

Abruptly by the water's edge he stopped and turned. Kit stopped immediately as well. Ty's dark brown hair flew into his eyes the way it normally did. They stared at each other for a long moment.

"I know you're mad at me."

Kit sighed deeply, "I was upset."

"Why?" Ty asked guileless.

Slowly Kit shook his head. Ty just had no idea how much he was hurting. Kit spoke haltingly, "You said Livvy was the only one that mattered. The only one."

Ty's eyebrows raised in surprise, "I said that? I don't remember."

Kit felt his features harden a bit. He had been so hurt and Ty didn't even remember?

Ty could see the change in his face and his hands started to flutter in nervousness again. He was saying everything all wrong. How could he fix this?

Suddenly a girl in a white dress appeared over the water's edge very close to them, "Hi!"

Ty didn't move but Kit took a step back startled. She looked between the both of them and then a sly smile shifted across her ghostly features, "I see what's going on here. You guys are formulating a plan. What's going to be the next big adventure?"

The smirk across her face got wider and then she vanished. Ty seemed unfazed by the appearance and then disappearance but Kit needed a moment to regather his thoughts. He blinked owlishly at the spot above the water that Livvy had been a moment ago. He couldn't figure out if he was relieved she was still there for her brother or worried that she shouldn't be.

Kit glanced back at the institute and saw Jem, Emma, and Julian staring out the library window. Turning his head quickly he looked away.

Ty glanced up at the same place and then moved down the beach some more, "Come down to the bluffs."

Slowly Kit followed after Ty wondering what the hell was going on and what he was going to do. If he'd had expectations, which okay he did, it was not going the way he hoped. But it wasn't going terribly either. They made their way around to the bluffs that blocked them from view of the institute.

Taking a deep breath Ty started to ramble, "If I did something I'm sorry. About what you said I meant that at the moment I was trying to get Livvy back and she was important but I didn't mean that other people weren't important. Like Dru and Julian and Mark and everyone else, they are all important. I can't really remember everything after that, the night kind of turned into a blur for me."

Ty's hands were moving so quickly and his eyes were skittering across Kit's face a mile a minute as if he didn't know where to look. Usually he fixated his gaze on a point over someone's shoulder but Kit saw he wasn't doing that now. He almost didn't know what to respond to the other boy. He'd been so hurt by everything that had gone down that night. And he couldn't help but notice that Ty still hadn't included him in the list of important people.

"And about what I said?" Kit whispered.

Ty's grey eyes startled up to his for a moment and Kit was pretty sure that was the longest eye contact he's ever had with the other boy. Then they moved away and Ty answered just as quietly, "You said you loved me. Like a brother?"

Ty reached out his hand, it was probably the most still Kit had ever seen him.

Kit glanced between them, "Not like a brother."

"Okay."

Kit waited for more to come but it didn't. Ty just stood there looking at the sand with his arm outstretched. Reluctantly Kit reached out and took Ty's hand, closing his fingers around the other boy's. Ty's brown hair flew up around his face, it had grown out some. They stood not too close, their hands the only point of contact out in front of them.

Finally not being able to stand the silence anymore, Kit yanked Ty towards him. Ty stumbled closer to him. Kit was an inch or two taller than him and Ty looked up at Kit with big eyes. Slowly, oh so slowly, so Ty had ample time to pull away if he wanted to, Kit tilted his face downward. He let go of the other boy's hand and put both of his on Ty's upper arms. His left hand stayed stationary and he moved his right hand up past Ty's shoulder to his neck and then tipped his chin up ever so slightly. Ty's eyes were extremely wide as if he was in shock but he didn't move away. He barely moved a muscle except to fist his shaking hands into the edge of Kit's T-shirt. Finally Kit's immensely slow descent finished with his lips barely brushing against Ty's. The other boy tensed and became as rigid as a rock.

Kit pulled away slightly trying to look into the other boy's eyes but Ty's grey eyes were darting around like crazy. Kit made to move away but Ty stepped even closer to him. His hands having a death gripe on Kit's shirt just at his stomach.

He breathily asked a question so low Kit could barely hear him, "Again?"

Lazily Kit skated his hand over Ty's cheek and pulled Ty's mouth to his own. There lips crushed together and once again Ty was as rigid as a statue as if he didn't know what to do. Kit licked Ty's bottom lip with his tongue and Ty opened his mouth slightly. Then they were moving their mouths against each other in a frenzy. Kit pulled Ty just a little closer and felt Ty's hands release his T-shirt and put his palms flat against Kit's abs to stop them from getting crushed.

Neither of them know how long they were locked in the embrace but finally they stepped apart looking at each other with wide eyes.

"We should head back," Kit said reluctantly.

He didn't know what to think, how to feel. He was afraid of how he felt. He loved Ty, he knew he did. But he couldn't help but wonder if Ty really liked him or if he was just afraid to lose the only person he had left besides his family.

They walked back to the institute in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. The sun was starting to go down and it looked beautiful with the sunset against the water.

Jem was on the steps waiting, "There you are!"

Ty glanced inside the doorway and saw Aline and Helen moving around the entrance way as if they had been waiting too but didn't want it to look like they were.

"We'd better head back. Tessa will be waiting for us," Jem continued.

He looked worriedly between the two boys, but Kit just plastered on a smile, "Yeah sure!"

The relief on his face almost made Kit feel guilty. Like he should reassure the older man that he wasn't going to just run off.

Ty on the other hand looked distraught, "But I thought now that you aren't mad at me anymore you could come back to the institute."

Helen looked over in alarm.

Kit didn't really know what to say or do either. His feelings were in turmoil and he wondered again if Ty only wanted him here because he didn't want to be alone. Did he really care for Kit? Kit couldn't tell and that was almost worst.

"Ty, Kit can visit whenever you like. And you're more than welcome to visit us at anytime as well," Jem responded kindly trying to take hold of the situation.

Ty looked at Kit as if he'd betrayed him in some way and then ran into the house past everyone.

Helen moved immediately to follow her younger brother. Aline moved to the doorway, "Sorry about that. Ty has been so despondent these last couple of weeks Helen was hoping the visit from Kit would cheer him up."

It was almost too much to bear. Kit turned away and jogged down the steps before he could hear Jem's response.

Ty took the steps two at a time and slammed his bedroom door. His mind was in turmoil. He heard a knock at his door, "Ty? Ty, is everything all right?"

Helen sounded worried. Tiberius didn't want anyone to worry about him anymore. He cleared his throat, "Yes I'm all right. Thank you."

He heard her pitter around outside his door as if she didn't know what to do and just ended up replying, "Okay let me know if you need anything."

Livvy appeared just then above his bed, "So what adventure are Sherlock and Watson going on next?"

If Kit wasn't coming back to the institute then Ty really had no reason to stay any longer, "We are going to the Scholmance."


End file.
